Addis Ababa 17 October 2023 – The International vehicle Inspection Committee. (CITA) joined efforts with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in collaboration with partners to hold the CITA Africa’s Regional Advisory Groups’ meeting for 2023 with the focus on how to guarantee safe vehicles. Likewise, ECA and CITA held on the 18 October 2023 a continental workshop on e-vehicles inspection.
The events sought to facilitate networking among officials of sectoral organisation, regional and continental organisations, governments, private sector, civil society organisations and the academia. This enabled exchange of views and experiences in vehicle compliance, vehicle inspection, road safety, environmental protection, decarbonisation, and enforcement of laws and standards, among others. The main objective of the meetings was to improve vehicle standards and inspection in Africa.
The representative of African Union Commission, Mr. Eric Ntagengerwa, alerted the meeting that “the transport sector accounts for about one-third of the global energy consumption and 25% of greenhouse gas emissions”. He noted that tackling emissions from the transport sector was imperative to win the fight against climate change.
Mr. Müller Gerhard, President of CITA, encouraged the enforcement of regular vehicle inspections, using appropriate testing procedures. “Future vehicles with promising new technologies like driving assistance systems or alternative power trains require new inspection methods to ensure a high safety and environmental level during their lifespan”, Mr. Gerhard mentioned.
On his part, the Officer in Charge of ECA’s Private Sector Development and Finance Division, Mr. Robert Lisinge, noted that “investing in safer vehicles to avoid crashes was critical to reducing road deaths”. “That is why the UN advocates for regular car inspections, and the adoption of vehicle standards for new and used car”, he added.
Mr. Robert Lisinge highlighted efforts by ECA to promote safer and cleaner vehicles on the continent together with CITA, the African Union Commission, United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and other partners, and stressed that “although e-vehicles are considered a solution to greenhouse gas emissions and pollution in the transport sector, the technology is evolving, and effective inspection of e-vehicles is critical to optimise their benefits”.
Issued by:
Communications Section
Economic Commission for Africa
PO Box 3001
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Tel: +251 11 551 5826
E-mail: eca-info@un.org